Open Mic Night featuring The Mayhem Poets

Find out why people say this mind boggling performance has been described as “The Simpsons meets Malcolm X at a Notorious B.I.G. concert”.

Kyle Rapps was born in Michigan and raised in Jersey, where he learned how to “lyrically split atoms” and “Kill-em with Concepts.” His smooth flowing, hard-hitting hip-hop style and dynamic theatrical presence have garnered him poetry slam victories across the nation, and brought him all the way to the Grand Slam finals at the legendary Nuyorican Poets Cafe’ in New York City. Under the name Black Skeptik, Kyle released 2 hip hop singles: “Rent” featuring rap legend KRS ONE, and “Frankenstein Saves Hip Hop” featuring production by Blockhead and a video with Crazy Legs of Rocksteady crew. Looking for a more cutting edge sensibility Kyle is now finishing up his debut album, which was recorded in, LA, NY, and on a Liberian refugee camp in Ghana, Africa with the new alias, Kyle Rapps. With a B.A. in spanish from Rutgers University, Kyle can communicate with a multitude of audiences and has led writing and performance workshops around the globe. He dedicates all of his artistic endeavors to the memory of his mother, Barbara Sutton.

Scott Raven was drawn to the stage since birth; his pacifier his first microphone. As a teen he quickly became active in the local Jewish community giving Shabbat speeches and histrionic-filled haftorah portions, assuring his Jewish identity would remain an important part of his writing and career. His penchant for performance led him to Rutgers University where he studied Theater and Journalism. After graduation, he co-created Mayhem Poets blending his love for acting and writing. Since then he has co-authored and performed in two full length Spoken-Word Plays, Masque (2001) and New Street Poets (2005), has taken Shakespeare and Voice classes at the Stella Adler Acting Studio, and studied improv with the UCB. He is currently working on a collection of Shakespearean “Sconnetts”, a fictional novel loosely based on his touring experiences throughout elementary and middle schools, and recently finished shooting both a commercial and two independent films.

Originally from Willingboro, NJ, Mason Granger took his exceptional SAT marks & perfect score on the Math section of the NJ High School Proficiency Test and, rather than parlaying them into an ivy league scholarship, instead took them to Rutgers University to pursue a life of poetry. Once there, Mason infused academia into his creative writings, resulting in a style that both Einstein and Emerson would admire. Sweeping thru the collegiate poetry scene like a breath of fresh air, Mason hosted the campus open mic Verbal Mayhem for 3 years, eventually becoming the poet laureate of Livingston College. He’s been described as everything from “brilliant” to “a sexier version of Barack.”